Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ:AAOI) Shares Down 2.7% – Should You Sell?

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) shares fell 2.7% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $36.40 and last traded at $36.89. 893,911 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 60% from the average session volume of 2,225,600 shares. The stock had previously closed at $37.90.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on AAOI shares. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their target price on shares of Applied Optoelectronics from $27.50 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Northland Securities reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective (up from $25.00) on shares of Applied Optoelectronics in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. B. Riley cut Applied Optoelectronics from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $14.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Raymond James lifted their price target on Applied Optoelectronics from $17.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Applied Optoelectronics to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Optoelectronics has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $29.20.

Applied Optoelectronics Trading Down 1.8 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $32.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $19.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.71 and a beta of 2.39.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Optoelectronics

In other Applied Optoelectronics news, insider Hung-Lun (Fred) Chang sold 20,323 shares of Applied Optoelectronics stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.35, for a total transaction of $616,803.05. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 195,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,935,610.20. The trade was a 9.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider David C. Kuo sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.93, for a total transaction of $269,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 118,122 shares in the company, valued at $3,181,025.46. The trade was a 7.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 86,769 shares of company stock worth $3,015,537 in the last three months. 5.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Applied Optoelectronics

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AAOI. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics during the third quarter worth $19,019,000. Whale Rock Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Optoelectronics during the 3rd quarter worth about $16,145,000. Shellback Capital LP purchased a new stake in Applied Optoelectronics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $8,617,000. Royce & Associates LP lifted its position in Applied Optoelectronics by 47.7% in the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,596,545 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $22,847,000 after buying an additional 515,489 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JAT Capital Mgmt LP purchased a new position in Applied Optoelectronics during the third quarter worth about $6,470,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.72% of the company’s stock.

Applied Optoelectronics Company Profile

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc designs, manufactures, and sells fiber-optic networking products in the United States, Taiwan, and China. It offers optical modules, optical filters, lasers, laser components, subassemblies, transmitters and transceivers, turn-key equipment, headend, node, distribution equipment, and amplifiers.